Microsoft, Kia Plan Phone, Music for Cars

By

Alex P. Kellogg

Updated Jan. 5, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

Kia Motors America and Microsoft Corp. are forming a partnership to equip Kia vehicles with a system that drivers and passengers can use to make phone calls and control the car's audio system using voice commands.

The hands-free system, called UVO, will be offered in several Kia Motors Corp. vehicles by the end of the year, according to the auto maker. The first vehicle to offer it will be the 2011 Kia Sorento crossover, likely to be out around July.

UVO is expected to be the first direct competitor to Ford Motor Co.'s Sync system, which also is based on Microsoft technology. Kia and Microsoft announced the partnership Tuesday at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. New features on the Sync system, which Ford is expected to announce this week at the CES show, combine navigation and online social media. The next generation of Ford's Sync, expected later this year, will also offer wireless Internet access, the company has said.

With hands-free technologies, drivers and vehicle passengers are able to answer and place phone calls, send and receive text messages, and access music and other media, primarily by using voice-recognition programs. UVO will provide all such functions but won't offer turn-by-turn driving directions, as Ford's Sync technology does. The UVO features a 4.3-inch, full-color display providing details on media content, phonebook data and vehicle information; the screen doubles as a rear-view camera when the shifter is put in reverse.

Both UVO and Sync can be linked to iPhones, MP3 players and other portable music and cellphone devices. "For us, it's a breakthrough interface," said Michael Sprague, vice president of U.S. marketing for Kia.

Mr. Sprague declined to disclose how much the system will cost but said it would be consistent with Kia's value message.

Sync, offered in Ford vehicles such as the Fusion and the F-150 pickup truck, starts at about $400.

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